Non-Muslim who declares the testimony of faith

Question: “What is the ruling on a non-Muslim who declares the testimony of faith: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" on his deathbed? Is he considered a Muslim?” Answer: “One who utters the Shahadahs (two Testimonies of Faith) before death is a Muslim, even if he did not utter this while being healthy and committed major acts of Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). Like any deceased Muslim, we should wash him, perform a Funeral Prayer for him, bury and invoke Allah to forgive and have mercy on him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, “Allah will accept the repentance of His slave so long as the death-rattle has not yet reached his throat.”[1] (Related by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhy, and others) Furthermore, when his uncle Abu Talib was on his deathbed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came to urge him to utter Shahadah, but he rejected. It is reported in Sahih (authentic book) that “The Prophet (peace be upon him) visited a Jewish sick boy and urged him to embrace Islam. The boy embraced Islam, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) went out saying, 'Praise be to Allah Who saved him by me from the Fire.'”[2] On the other hand, anyone who utters the two Shahadahs while being healthy and commits Shirk including beseeching the dead for help, making vows and slaughtering for their sake is not a Muslim by uttering them on the deathbed. This will be the case unless he declares his Tawbah (repentance to Allah) from the acts of Shirk.” May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!”Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez bin Baaz Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd Source: www.alifta.net - Fatwa no. 19603 [1] Narrated from the Hadith of `Abdullah ibn `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): Ahmad, vol. 2, pp. 132 and 153; Al-Tirmidhy, vol. 5, p. 547, no. 3537; Ibn Majah, vol. 12, p. 1420, no. 4253; Abu Ya`la, vol. 9, p. 462, no. 5609; Ibn Hibban, vol. 2, p. 395, no. 628; Al-Hakim, vol. 4, p. 257; Al-Bayhaqy, Al-Sha`b, vol. 12, p. 365, no. 6661; and Al-Baghawy, vol. 5, pp. 90-91, no. 1306. [2] Ahmad, vol. 3, pp. 175, 227, and 280; Al-Bukhari, Sahih, vol. 2, p. 97, 2/97 , 7/6 , and Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, p. 185, no. 524; Abu Dawud, vol. 3, p. 474, no. 3095; Al-Nasa'y, Al-Sunan Al-Kubra, vol. /, p. 9, no. 8534; Abu Ya`la, vol. 6, p. 93, no. 3350; and Ibn Hibban, vol. 7, p. 227, vol. 11, pp. 242-243, nos. 2960 and 4884.